Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC risks becoming a never-ending crisis, experts warn

Ivan Buendia Gayton, a technologist and humanitarian adviser, and Eric D. Perakslis, an engineer and former MSF strategic adviser, co‑author an opinion piece on the latest Ebola flare‑up in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

They recall the 2014‑2016 West Africa epidemic, noting that the virus was only contained after extraordinary international cooperation, local adaptations and a degree of luck, despite severe shortages such as treatment centers running out of beds.

The authors argue that the current DRC outbreak faces a different reality. Much of the coordinated response and funding that helped end the previous crisis is missing, raising the specter that the disease could become endemic rather than being stopped.

They warn that global health capacity is now fragmented and underfunded, and that the shift away from aggressive containment strategies could allow Ebola to persist indefinitely.